Metro Nashville Government Earns Strong Bond Ratings Again from Moody’s and S&P

10/5/2018Judith Byrd 615-862-6461

Within the past 48 hours, Metro Nashville Government has received strong bond ratings from both Moody’s Investor Services and Standard & Poor’s Financial Services (S&P).

Moody’s affirmed its Aa2 rating, while S&P affirmed its AA rating for Metro’s general obligation bonds.

“This underscores my frequent assertion that the city’s financial health is strong,” said Mayor David Briley. “The decisions we had to make in the budget this year were tough. Our budget challenges, however, were not an indication of financial vulnerability.”

Metro Nashville Government is rated by both agencies in conjunction with bond offerings. Both look at factors such as revenue, debt, liquidity and governance to determine their ratings.

“I am perhaps most pleased that both agencies cited prudent financial management and the city’s rapidly growing tax base as reasons for their ratings,” Mayor Briley added. “We will only benefit from our growth and prosperity if we manage our finances well, and I want to thank the Metro Council for their partnership in this effort.”

The news was shared with Metro Council Budget and Finance Chair, Tanaka Vercher.

“These ratings confirm our city’s strong economy, and it is even more powerful when outside agencies validate this,” Vercher said. “The decisions we had to make this year were difficult, no doubt. However, we have great hope that this will be a strong year for budget planning and revenue growth.”

In its ratings outlook, Moody’s states “the stable outlook reflects the expectation that Metro's regional tax base will continue to grow and provide the necessary revenues to support ongoing capital needs and governmental operations, including annual financial support to Metro's Hospital Authority.” S&P cites that their rating reflects their assessment of Nashville’s strong economy; strong fiscal management; good financial policies and practices; adequate budgetary performance; strong budgetary flexibility; very strong liquidity; and very strong institutional framework score.